Death Wish Coffee wins a free $5M Super Bowl ad via a small-business contest

Death Wish Coffee, an 11-employee roaster in Round Lake, New York, founded in 2012, sold 'the world's strongest coffee' but could not afford a Super Bowl 50 spot, which media estimates put above $5 million. Intuit QuickBooks ran its Small Business Big Game contest with one free 30-second ad as the prize.

Win a free $5M Super Bowl ad by entering Intuit's small-business contest and mobilizing customer votes — media bought with enthusiasm, not money.

Death Wish entered with more than 15,000 other small businesses; after judges picked ten finalists, a public vote — driven by the brand's own customers — put it on top. Agency RPA produced the spot: a Viking ship charging through a stormy sea of black coffee, shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda, and it aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016.

Within 24 hours of the ad, Amazon sales rose 550% and Death Wish Whole Bean Coffee became the No. 1 Grocery & Gourmet best-seller; 150,000 people hit the site at once after the spot aired. Business ran about five times its normal level within a week, and orders were still three times pre-ad levels two months later.

Death Wish Coffee was founded in 2012 after Mike Brown, running a struggling coffee shop in Saratoga Springs, New York, heard customers asking for stronger coffee. He blended and roasted a high-caffeine product, sold it in the shop and online, and built a following around the claim of being 'the world's strongest coffee'.

In 2015 the company wanted a Super Bowl commercial but did not have the millions of dollars such a spot cost, so it entered Intuit QuickBooks' Small Business Big Game contest. More than 15,000 small businesses applied; judges chose ten finalists, and a public vote — powered by Death Wish's customers — made it the winner, revealed to the team on camera as a surprise.

Agency RPA produced the 30-second ad, featuring Vikings rowing a ship through a stormy sea of black coffee, with Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda behind the camera. The spot aired in the third quarter of Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016, seen by more than 100 million viewers — the only small-business ad in the telecast.

The result was immediate: Amazon sales rose 550% in 24 hours and Death Wish Whole Bean hit No. 1 in Grocery & Gourmet, 150,000 people hit the website at once, and within a week business was about five times normal. By late March 2016 Brown said orders were still three times higher than before the ad and the company was hiring to reach 15 employees.

A distinctive product hook — 'the world's strongest coffee' — gave the ad a story before it even aired.

A public-vote contest turned customers into campaigners, so the win came with a built-in audience.

The free ad was worth media exposure the company could never have afforded, estimated above $5 million.

The company prepared operations in advance, ramping production and distribution so the spike became repeat business.

When you cannot buy attention, compete for it: a public contest turns your existing customers into a voting army, and the win itself becomes the story that free media amplifies.

Brown said the contest itself already helped grow the business before the game, and the commercial 'changed the trajectory of this company forever'. By late March 2016 orders remained about three times pre-ad levels, the team was expanding toward 15 employees, and the brand's national recognition opened retail and partnership opportunities. Intuit ran the Small Business Big Game contest only twice, in 2014 and 2016; Death Wish's win became the reference point for small businesses trying to win attention instead of buying it.